SearchCap: The Day In Search, March 26, 2007

Below is what happened in search today, as reported onSearch Engine Land and from other
places across the web:

From Search Engine Land:

Logo Bomb:
Google Maps Returns Anti-Microsoft Logo For Microsoft Listing
Garett Rogers at Googling Google has reported that a search on Google Maps for
microsoft has returned an anti-Microsoft image within the Microsoft listing,
as shown to the left. The image was originally on a Yelp.com page and
automatically inserted into the Google Maps result. It appears to now…

Getting Link
Love From Google Custom Search Engines
I’ve written previously about Google Custom Search Engines. These vertical
Googlettes let anyone create a search engine with results based on Google’s
index, with an added layer of human editorial selection. Put more simply, you
create a Google CSE; you select the sites you want in it, and then you let…

No SEO Bull:
Calacanis Challenge Sees Traffic Rise 21%
Neil Patel challenged Jason Calacanis, who said last month that SEO is bull,
that SEO can improve traffic to his site. Jason accepted the challenge and the
early results have now been posted. Neil shows that by making "white hat"
recommendation, he has increased Jason’s search traffic by 21 percent….

Google Builds
Local Map Content in 3D
In January, Google announced a contest in which US and Canadian students were
invited to generate their college campuses in 3D, using Google Sketchup. A few
individuals or teams whose works are judged to be the best will be flown to
Google headquarters in Mountain View for a special…

Yell.com
Launches PPC On UK Directory Site
UK yellow pages publisher and local search purveyor, Yell.com announced that
it launched PPC ads on its site as well as targeted banner inventory. Yell
owns U.S. yellow pages publisher Yellow Book USA. One of the more innovative
print yellow pages publishers, Yell also offers mobile, enhanced mapping,
vertical guides…

Rebranded
Canadian Local Search Site ZipLocal Launches
ZipLocal is a new, consolidated "Web 2.0" local search destination growing out
of a number of earlier local search sites including Zip411.net and
redToronto.com, among them. Here’s an example results page for "Sushi ,
Toronto." The site has many Ajax features and offers send to mobile, as well
as the…

Google Gives
Seminar On Google for Politics
Google canvasses for political ads at the LA Times reports that Google gave a
seminar at the annual conference for political consultants and internet
activists run by George Washington University. The seminar, "Making the Most
of Google in 2008," saw Google advising how groups can use Google services to
promote…

Live.com Link
Command Currently Offline
The Microsoft Live.com link command operator is currently offline and has been
offline since yesterday morning. Kevin Gibbons reported yesterday that a
link:http://www.msn.com returns a blank page. I tested more examples and have
seen it down since at least 5:27 AM (EST) yesterday morning. All other
searches seem to work,…

Yahoo Releases
Greatly Simplified "SiteBuilder" Tool
How many U.S. small businesses have websites? Is it 30%, 40%, 50%? Answering
that question gets quickly into debates over the definition of a "website."
For example, is a "landing page" or a "profile page" a website? Do the small
business data provided by InfoUSA, Axciom, Localeze, TruelLocal (and now…

TimeSearch:
Searching Through History
TimeSearch is an interestingly different search engine, since the focus is
just on time, as one may expect from the name. It’s the brainchild of Bamber
Gascoigne, (a well known British television presenter of historical programmes
and academic quiz shows) and HistoryWorld. The search options are fairly
limited – to…

Comparing
Search Popularity Ratings: Google Climbs & Good News For Live.com
Previously, I’ve covered individually the latest search popularity figures for
February 2007 in the United States that have been issued by the major ratings
services of comScore, Nielsen//NetRatings, Hitwise and Compete. Now it’s time
to compare the figures from each of these services against each other plus
look back over…

Register Now
For SMX Advanced 2007 Seattle!
Just a quick reminder for our SearchCap newsletter readers and anyone who
visits Search Engine Land. Our first Search Marketing Expo event, SMX
Advanced, happens in Seattle this June 4 and 5. We hope you’ll be attending.
If so, register before April 2 to save on getting a ticket! The…